Shreya Ila Anasuya

From chudails and peris to jinn and goddesses, this lush collection of South Asian folklore, legends, and epics reimagines stories of old for a modern audience. This fantasy and science fiction teen anthology edited by Samira Ahmed and Sona Charaipotra contains a wide range of stories from fourteen bestselling, award-winning, and emerging writers from the South Asian diaspora that will surprise, delight, and move you. So read on, for after all, magic has no borders. A pair of star-crossed lovers search for a way back to one another against all odds . . . A girl fights for her life against a malignant, generations-old evil . . . A peri seeks to reclaim her lost powers . . . A warrior rebels against her foretold destiny . . . With stories by:Sabaa Tahir, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Ember in the Ashes series and winner of the National Book Award and Printz Award for All My RageSayantani DasGupta, New York Times bestselling author of the Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond seriesPreeti Chhibber, author of Spider-Man’s Social Dilemma Sona Charaipotra, author of Symptoms of a Heartbreak and How Maya Got Fierce and coauthor of The Rumor Game and Tiny Pretty Things, now a Netflix original series. Tanaz Bhathena, award-winning author of Hunted by the Sky and Of Light and Shadow Sangu Mandanna, bestselling author of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches and the Celestial TrilogyOlivia Chadha, author of Rise of the Red HandNafiza Azad, author of William C. Morris Award nominee The Candle and the FlameTracey Baptiste, New York Times bestselling author of the Jumbies series and Minecraft: The CrashNaz Kutub, author of The LoopholeNikita Gill, bestselling author of Wild Embers and Fierce FairytalesSwati Teerdhala, author of the Tiger at Midnight trilogyShreya Ila Anasuya, New Voices selectionTahir Abrar, New Voices selectionA New York Public Library Best Book of the Year for Teens 2023!

Born into poverty in an age of heroes and kings, a future as a courtesan is the best Eka expects in the Maghada Empire. Initiation into the service of the snake goddess gives her a fleeting glimpse of power - until the king demands her services as a vish kanya, or poison girl. Eka and her childhood companion Ira are fed a diet of poison and taught in its arts. And when a young invader sweeps towards their empire in India, they are chosen to infiltrate Alexander the Great's army. In Alexander's court Eka must play a dangerous political game, all while her feelings for Ira unfurl. Raised to do the bidding of one king, and confronted with the power and destruction of another, the fate of a world will rest on the choice she makes.